Jamie Kellner, who helped turn Fox Broadcasting Co. into a viable fourth network, said Monday that he is resigning as president to start his own business, possibly in association with Fox Inc. Chairman Rupert Murdoch. Murdoch is expected to name as Kellner's successor Lucie Salhany, chairman of Twentieth Television, the syndication and network program production arm of the Fox studio, a knowledgeable source said.

After two turbulent years that saw CNN's prime-time shows slip behind those of rival Fox News Channel, Jamie Kellner is stepping down as chairman of AOL Time Warner Inc.'s cable networks. Kellner, 55, told top AOL executives late last year that he wanted to resign to return to his home in Santa Barbara and tend to the WB -- the network he founded -- before retiring next year.

Warner Bros., the Hollywood studio owned by media giant Time Warner Inc., plans to launch a fifth TV network to compete with ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox, knowledgeable sources said Wednesday. The new network would be built on a nationwide foundation of local broadcast and cable systems, sources said. It would be the first to take advantage of the convergence of broadcast and cable television, which until recently have been in fierce competition. Warner Bros. has recruited former Fox Broadcasting Co.

AOL Time Warner has agreed to pay Jamie Kellner and eight other founding executives of the WB television network nearly $110 million in January for their 11% stake, setting the total value of the 7-year-old network at about $1 billion, according to several people with knowledge of the deal. AOL Time Warner said the agreement was negotiated in the spring of 2001 as part of Kellner's promotion to his current job as chief executive of Turner Broadcasting System Inc.

Jeff Zucker's friends back East at NBC News joke about the former "Today" show executive producer's newly acquired, stereotypical Hollywood fondness for his cell phone and car phone that quickly became fixtures of his job as Entertainment President of the network. Former WB Network chief executive Jamie Kellner, meanwhile, recently quipped to reporters that he has become so committed to news that he has had CNN, one of his charges as the new Turner Broadcasting head, tattooed on his posterior.

As chief executive of the upstart WB Network, currently in its third season, Jamie Kellner has once again displayed a penchant for risk-taking and innovation that he was known for in his eight years as president of Fox Broadcasting. The difference this time is that he is putting his money where his mouth is.

After two turbulent years that saw CNN's prime-time shows slip behind those of rival Fox News Channel, Jamie Kellner is stepping down as chairman of AOL Time Warner Inc.'s cable networks. Kellner, 55, told top AOL executives late last year that he wanted to resign to return to his home in Santa Barbara and tend to the WB -- the network he founded -- before retiring next year.

In a move that breaks down entrenched Time Warner fiefdoms, AOL Time Warner has merged its broadcast and cable networks and named the founder and chairman of the company's WB network,Jamie Kellner, as chief. AOL's surprising move is in keeping with its take-no-prisoners style as it eliminates barriers to growth and cross-promotion. "AOL is treading where Time Warner feared to tread," said Tom Wolzien, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein & Co.

AOL Time Warner has agreed to pay Jamie Kellner and eight other founding executives of the WB television network nearly $110 million in January for their 11% stake, setting the total value of the 7-year-old network at about $1 billion, according to several people with knowledge of the deal. AOL Time Warner said the agreement was negotiated in the spring of 2001 as part of Kellner's promotion to his current job as chief executive of Turner Broadcasting System Inc.

July 21, 1992 | ALEENE MacMINN, Arts and entertainment reports from The Times, national and international news services and the nation's press

Stud Dud: Jamie Kellner, president of Fox Broadcasting Co. network, which has its own share of libido-themed shows, was asked Monday by a group of TV critics what he thought of the racy Fox-syndicated show "Studs." "I don't like 'Studs.' I don't watch that program. I would not want that on the Fox network," responded Kellner. "Studs" is co-produced by Fox Television Stations Productions and airs on many Fox affiliates, including KTTV Channel 11.

Jeff Zucker's friends back East at NBC News joke about the former "Today" show executive producer's newly acquired, stereotypical Hollywood fondness for his cell phone and car phone that quickly became fixtures of his job as Entertainment President of the network. Former WB Network chief executive Jamie Kellner, meanwhile, recently quipped to reporters that he has become so committed to news that he has had CNN, one of his charges as the new Turner Broadcasting head, tattooed on his posterior.

In a move that breaks down entrenched Time Warner fiefdoms, AOL Time Warner has merged its broadcast and cable networks and named the founder and chairman of the company's WB network,Jamie Kellner, as chief. AOL's surprising move is in keeping with its take-no-prisoners style as it eliminates barriers to growth and cross-promotion. "AOL is treading where Time Warner feared to tread," said Tom Wolzien, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein & Co.

As chief executive of the upstart WB Network, currently in its third season, Jamie Kellner has once again displayed a penchant for risk-taking and innovation that he was known for in his eight years as president of Fox Broadcasting. The difference this time is that he is putting his money where his mouth is.

Warner Bros., the Hollywood studio owned by media giant Time Warner Inc., plans to launch a fifth TV network to compete with ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox, knowledgeable sources said Wednesday. The new network would be built on a nationwide foundation of local broadcast and cable systems, sources said. It would be the first to take advantage of the convergence of broadcast and cable television, which until recently have been in fierce competition. Warner Bros. has recruited former Fox Broadcasting Co.

Jamie Kellner, who helped turn Fox Broadcasting Co. into a viable fourth network, said Monday that he is resigning as president to start his own business, possibly in association with Fox Inc. Chairman Rupert Murdoch. Murdoch is expected to name as Kellner's successor Lucie Salhany, chairman of Twentieth Television, the syndication and network program production arm of the Fox studio, a knowledgeable source said.

February 10, 1988 | JOHN VOLAND, Arts and entertainment reports from The Times, national and international news services and the nation's press

Fox Broadcasting Co. said Monday it will carry all future addresses by President Reagan. "We notified the White House of this and they were very, very appreciative because there was a great deal of anger" about the major networks' decision last week not to air Reagan's Contra-aid speech live, said Fox Broadcasting President Jamie Kellner. "There was no reason for us to carry it if the networks do. But when they don't, then it becomes counterprogramming," Kellner said.

August 14, 1987 | Arts and entertainment reports from The Times, national and international news services and the nation's press

Joan Rivers, the recently dismissed host of Fox Broadcasting Co.'s "Late Show," will be returning to Fox . . . well, sort of. Fox has announced that Rivers is on the list of presenters Sept. 20 for the 39th annual Emmy Awards, recently wrested away by Fox from its traditional home on Big Three network TV. Rivers' press representative, Richard Grant, insists that her participation is appropriate: "It's not like this is a Fox Broadcasting party--these are the Emmys," he said.